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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a path
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. track — to keep track
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chest — a box
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. track — a song
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com